The police says there’s been no arrest yet
after a 21-year old woman on Saturday opened a case of assault against the
troubled Idols runner-up Mthokozisi Ndaba who has so far remained unreachable
by M-Net’s Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) channel.
Hillbrow police station spokesperson,
Sergeant Mduduzi Zondo told TVwithThinus on Sunday afternoon “that a case was
opened on Saturday morning against Mthokozisi Ndaba and the matter is being
investigated. No arrest has been made yet."
The police is investigating a a claim of physical assault after a charge was laid by Neo Tsele (21) after Mthokozisi
Ndaba allegedly beat her up in Braamfontein on Friday night, almost a week
after the conclusion of the 13th season of the FremantleMedia format
reality show produced by [SIC] Entertainment.
Neo Tsele says Mthokozisi Ndaba opened a bottle of vodka and after an argument ensued, started to hit her and then slammed her into a wall. She also lost a tooth while he ran away.
Neo Tsele says Mthokozisi Ndaba opened a bottle of vodka and after an argument ensued, started to hit her and then slammed her into a wall. She also lost a tooth while he ran away.
"You
brutally abused me, I don't deserve to be beaten up like this by a stranger
that I have never even wronged. Why? Why did you do this to me? You will run
but you will never hide," she wrote on social media, with an image of her
bruised and battered face.
Mthokozisi Ndaba who remained cloistered in
Johannesburg the past week after all media interviews were abruptly canned
while he received care from medical professionals since he struggled to come to
grips with his defeat after Paxton Fielies (17) from Cape Town won the13th season of Idols, was supposed to fly back to Durban on Saturday afternoon.
After posing for pics at the O.R. Tambo
airport in Johannesburg with DJ Prince Kaybee, it’s not clear if he actually
got on the plane and is back in KwaMashu, or if he is still in Johannesburg.
DJ Prince Kaybee was quick to distance
himself from the fallen Idols star, saying “A few minutes ago I posted a pic of me and Mthokozisi (Idols). It just got
to my attention about his alleged assault case. I don’t condone such actions
against women and apologise if I offended anyone.”
Mzansi Magic said that it has been unable to
get in contract with Mthokozisi Ndaba since Saturday. It’s highly unusual for a
TV channel not to be able to quickly get hold of any of its on-air talent and
personalities, especially during a crisis that has big negative brand and
reputational impact.
Silence from Mthokozisi Ndaba
Mthokozisi Ndaba has issued no statement about the
alleged brutal assault.
On Sunday Mthokozisi Ndaba’s manager, Kim
Coppen, didn’t respond to an emailed media enquiry seeking comment on the
allegations of physical assault against Mthokozisi Ndaba.
Kim Coppen was asked if there are considerations
to possibly drop Mthokozisi Ndaba following the allegations of assault and what his
management’s view is on the assault and abuse of women.
Last week Kim Coppen said Mzansi Magic is
responsible for Mthokozisi Ndaba’s publicity until this week.
Nondumiso Mabece, head of publicity at M-Net
for local entertainment channels, on Sunday afternoon told TVwithThinus that
Mzansi Magic has no new information and has still been unable to reach Ndaba.
Asked if during the
past week when Mthokozisi Ndaba was placed under media professionals’ care
there was any awareness that the person is troubled beyond what Mzansi Magic,
Idols and M-Net understood might be the case, Nondumiso Mabece said “we are not at
liberty to discuss the outcomes of Mthokozisi's sessions with the medical
professionals as that information is private”.
Meanwhile rumours have started to circulate
that Mthokozisi Ndaba was allegedly borderline abuse and rude towards some of
the other contestants during their stay in the Idols house. Mzansi Magic was
asked if any contestants ever complained about his behaviour during their time
in the Idols house.
Nondumiso Mabece told TVwithThinus that “we did not receive any complaints from contestants during the
show”.
The claim of physical abuse against the Idols
star came at the start of this year's 16 Days of Activism campaign that
runs from 25 November to 10 December and aims to raise awareness over the
scourge of violence against women and children in South Africa.
In a recent survey 1 in 4 women said they've been hit by a man, and 1 in 5 said they've been sexually abused or raped, with only 5% of women saying they feel the South African Police Service (SAPS) would help them if they reported it.
Sunday was the International Day to End Violence Against Women.
